AN: I recieved some advice earlier that replying to all my reviews in my updates could actually get me banned from this site! O_O. So instead, I'll just send a PM your way. And yes this epilogue of sorts is short, but I never intended this fic to be a grand sweeping journey or nothing, but more a bite-size adventure that takes place in between the big events. So, here's the end. Feel free to tear apart my attempt at wrapping up this insanity. Enjoy!

'How did you get this far?'

Y'know a lot can be said about what had just happened to me recently. I'd died...again, came back to life, saw myself die, fought against an alien god occupying the body of a good friend, and then some other stuff. I can't even begin to fathom how I'm recalling this so casually. I was kinda joking to myself when I mentioned being numbed to all the super-natural hoo-ha that Haruhi brought into my life, but after what I'd experienced, it's a stone cold truth now.

Maybe.

After all, I'm still in the SOS brigade. And Haruhi's happier than ever.

So, things haven't really changed all that much, I thought to myself as I took Koizumi's queen off the chess board. The dim afternoon sun gave everything in the club room a dull orange hue to it, silouhetting the various stolen goods situated about, and basking the people who I considered my friends in a soft light.

Koizumi, smiling to himself despite having lost for the third time in a row, preparing a different board game to lose at.

Asahina-san, humming merrily as she prepared another round of tea, maid outfit impeccable as ever.

Haruhi clacking away loudly on the computer, flashing me a toothy grin briefly before going to back to whatever she was doing.

And Nagato...was reading quietly in the corner of the room, the afternoon glow silently radiating about her like a seraphic aura.

'Whatcha reading?' I ask her, leaning back in my seat.

She raises her head slowly, studying me for a moment, then lifts the book up so I can see the cover.

It's Neil Gaiman's American Gods.

'Any good?' I prompt further. Despite the silence in the room, nobody was really paying attention to our conversation.

Nagato lowers the book back onto her lap.

'Interesting.'

The quiet in the room continues unabated, until Haruhi calls me over to help her with something on the computer.

'Oi, Kyon. Take a look at his. How do I get rid of this stupid border thingy?'

Sure whatever, Koizumi's already lost. Giving another lecture on the basics of web design seemed like more fun anyway.

X

Time passed, and one by one, the members of the SOS brigade made their leave. Asahina-san departed first, cheerily waving goodbye. Koizumi left next, leaving a corny and overly formal goodbye in his wake.

Haruhi left right after, stopping her blitz-like charge out of the room only to give me a friendly tap on the shoulder and a bewitching smile.

Her affection still stunned me, so I couldn't think of any sauve farewell, lest you count staring at her retreating form wordlessly to be charming.

That left only Nagato and I. The second Haruhi had slammed the door on her way out of the clubroom, the very atmosphere of the place seemed to thicken. Was it just me?

To break the awkwardness, I had to say something. So I sat up from my chair from the middle of the room and looked over to Nagato again, who still hadn't budged. Normally, she would stop reading after a set time, which prompted everyone else to call it a day. But today she just kept on going. Was the book that good? Or was there something else?

'So, Nagato-san.' I started, unsure what I actually wanted to say. It made it harder to think of anything when she didn't even look up from the book. '...Are you really, y'know...the Integrated Data Thought Entity now?'

A pause. Longer than the standard one by about two seconds.

'Yes.'

'So does that mean you're not taking orders anymore?'

'Yes.'

'Then, you're really here by your own will, huh?'

'Yes.'

Urgh, those one word answers made it near impossible to stretch a conversation. But I wasn't done yet.

'What happened to you Nagato?' I bluntly ask. 'You said you wanted to feel emotion, be more human.'

She finally looked up from her book, face passive but otherwise unreadable.

'Frankly...' Was I really going to say this? '...I-I really liked that side of you, Nagato.'

At those words, I started to daydream a little. A mini-slideshow of sorts played over in my head, flicking through images of Nagato smiling, thinking hard to herself, yelping in surprise...and crying. Nagato crying.

My eyes began to sting, so nervously, I wiped my face with the sleeve of my jacket, also masking my sob with a cough.

After I felt a little more composed, I opened my heavy eyes.

'But if this is how...'

She was there. Nagato was standing right in front of me, fighting back her own tears defiantly. Her cheeks a rosy shade of pink, tiny hands clenched at her sides.

'...Thank you, Kyon-kun.' Nagato whispered.

What? How? The heck...?

'N-nagato.' I sputtered lamely. She was so close that I could make out the individual strands of hair that masked her pale face. '...You...you were pretending?'

She arced her gaze down to my shoulder for a moment, looking a little ashamed.

'Yeah.' I could barely hear her this time.

'Why?'

Then she gazed at me once more, those golden eyes shimmering.

'I...had to make sure.'

Make sure? Of what? What could you possibly be unable to figure out....ahhh-

Nagato Yuki stood on her tiptoes, craned her neck gracefully, and kissed me on the cheek.

'Just...make sure.' She hushed into my ear.

She then broke away from me, grabbed her school bag, and was almost out the door before looking back at me with a face so full of serenity and joy.

'I can wait, Kyon-kun. No matter how long it takes, I can wait.'

And she was gone.

I was dizzy, everything spun, my whole array of senses were at war with one another trying to answer the question looping infinitely in my mind:

Did that just happen? A lingering fragrance of lavender and new books seemed evidence enough, so much so that I stumbled around a bit and caught myself on the clubroom table.

So what was going to happen now? What did she mean, "I can wait"? No, even I'm not stupid enough to miss that. So what was I going to do?

Haruhi.

Nagato.

What, huh?

Nagato.

Haruhi.

I couldn't. I just couldn't comprehend all this now. A good nights sleep is what I needed now more than ever. Perhaps a poetic sound-off would clear my mind a little? Here goes:

As one journey ends, another begins anew...and...ahhh whatever.

I'm totally screwed.

But I can't stop smiling.

FIN

X

AN: Thank you everyone so much for all your support. I admit that this story really isn't my best work by far, as I have hard time focusing on a given genre, and always end up all over the place in my narrative. But, hey, it was still fun to write. And for those dedicated enough to read the author's note to this point, I award you with (1) Free Internet Hug! For whenever you might need one.

Bye, bye for now!